1. Field of the Invention
Various types of manufacturing processes are known in which the starting materials are introduced into the furnace while cold or at ambient temperature by the use of either continuously or discontinuously operating devices. Such devices are frequently protected by a hydraulic or other cooling apparatus which absorbs the heat from the furnace and additionally intensifies the cooling of the materials introduced into the furnace. In these methods, and especially in melting glass, the starting materials are subjected to heating only after they have been introduced into the furnace where they receive, at high temperature, the quantities of heat necessary for heating them, for ensuring completion of the endothermic reactions, and for imparting thereto sufficient fluidity to ensure homogenization and refining of the resultant molten glass mass. It has been observed in glass making that the greater part of the heat delivered to the starting materials is directed to increasing the temperature of the starting materials rather than to producing the melting reactions. In most known methods, the starting materials are deposited on top of the molten bath and are subjected to radiation from the flames circulating with great turbulence above them. Since the newly-introduced materials are poor conductors of heat, the heat exchange is poor, which appreciably slows the melting process.
The present invention especially relates to increasing the efficiency and output of glass melting installations, and provides means whereby a glass melting furnace may be operated continuously and uniformly at full capacity or beyond, if desired. Apparatus is provided for preheating the throughly-mixed, glass-forming ingredients before the same are supplied to the melting furnace, and preferably utilizing the heat of the waste gases from the melting furnace in such preheating of the glass mixture, and causing continuous passage of the glass mixture by gravity through the preheater for subsequent delivery to the melting furnace.
This invention comprises an improved process and means for practicing the process to accomplish the aforesaid objects, and in the provision of an improved arrangement of apparatus for preheating the glass batch mixture and for utilizing waste gases from glass melting furnaces, or preheated hot air from such furnaces, as more fully set forth in the following specification, and as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The provision of the preheater for the glass-making mixture enables the utilization, for heating the same, of the heat in the waste gases from the melting furnace which otherwise would go to waste up the stack. While the use of hot waste gases is preferred to operate the preheater, preheated air from the furnace heat-recovery "checkers" area which is used for combustion, or a supplemental heat source such as an oil or gas burner, alone or in combination, may also be used to heat the air or waste gases for operating the preheater. Also, atmospheric air may be heated to operate the batch preheater. The provision of the preheater, continuously delivering glass batch mixture at a proper predetermined elevated temperature, to a melting furnace, which is used with either continuous or batch processes, permits more uniform operation of the furnace with a significant increase in efficiency of operation and in the output of the furnace.
2. Description of Prior Art
There is a considerable number of earlier-issued U.S. patents which deal with initially preheating the glass batch mixture prior to its delivery into the glass furnace. U.S. Pat. No. 3,607,170 to Malesak discloses method and apparatus in which the glass mixture is preheated in a non-oxidizing atmosphere while being advanced in a given direction through a preheating zone of a tunnel kiln. A mixture of glass powder and foaming agent is delivered into a hopper having a series of tubes through which the mixture passes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,648 to Brichard relates to preheating of pulverous materials in which the quantity and rate of flow of the fumes in the preheating zone are in direct contact with the glass forming ingredients, such contact causing an entrainment of dust in the emitting fumes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,197 to Tsai et al relates to apparatus and method for recovering the waste heat from the exhaust gases of a glass melting furnace and transferring such heat by heat pipes to an enclosure in which incoming batch materials are preheated prior to being fed to a furnace for melting. The heat pipes contain metallic sodium as the working fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,832 to Nesbitt et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,639 to Bodner et al, owned by the same common assignee as the present application, both relate to the preheating of agglomerated glass batch materials by direct contact with a gaseous effluent being exhausted from a glass melting furnace.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,554 to Sweo et al relates to a method of preheating glass batch materials by independent heating means other than exhausted effluent so that there is no unpredictable relationship between varying amounts of waste heat and the amount of heat provided for preheating unmelted batch materials.
A considerable number of other patents relates to the direct heat exchange between incoming batch materials and exhaust gases from a glass melting furnace. These patents are: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,607,190 to Penberthy, 4,026,691--Lovett, 3,526,492--Motsch, 3,350,213--Peyches, 1,543,770--Hilbert, 3,753,743--Kukuda, 1,610,377--Hitner, and 4,099,953--Rondeaux. Many techniques have been disclosed in the patent literature for direct and indirect heat exchange between hot exhaust gases from a glass melting furnace and incoming batch materials; however, none is capable of achieving the results attainable by the present invention.